The present invention relates to an extender for citrus juices and beverage products and a process for manufacturing the extender.
Substantial effort has been expended in the past to produce improved citrus juice products having improved characteristics of flavor, color and degree of cloud. Advantages in connection with flavor and color are believed obvious since it is apparent that a citrus juice or citrus flavored product will ideally have flavor and coloring closely associated with one or more citrus fruit products in order to form a more pleasing product. At the same time, extracted citrus juices commonly contain what is known as "cloud" which is generally a natural stable turbidity maintained in suspension by action of pectinous substances naturally occurring in citrus fruit. This cloud is deemed by many to impart much of the body and the flavor of fresh juice as well as desirable appearance. It is largely in the form of colloidal materials and fine or microscopic particles of solid components from the fruit. Accordingly, the characteristics of natural flavor, color and cloud enhance the resulting product and make it particularly appealing to consumers.
A number of references are described below which are believed to demonstrate the state of the prior art particularly in connection with the present invention.
Willison U.S. Pat. No. 1,848,760 dated Mar. 8, 1932 and entitled "Method of Making Pure Orange Juice Having the Desired Degree of Orange Flavor and Color" disclosed a method of making pure orange juice of desired standard as to flavor, color and purity wherein juice was first extracted from the oranges in a generally conventional fashion. The flavedo portion of the fruit rind was then peeled or shaved from the rind. The shavings were chopped into small pieces and washed in cold water to remove any bitter principal present from any albedo portion removed with the flavedo shavings. The chopped and washed flavedo shavings were then added to the juice to adjust the color and flavor of the juice.
Hill U.S. Pat. No. 2,086,911 dated July 13, 1937 and entitled "Treatment of Whole Citrus Fruit" disclosed a process for forming a beverage base or citrus juice product wherein whole citrus fruits were shredded in an auger or screw-type shredding machine so that the fruit was shredded in a plurality of substantially parallel planes extending transversely through the fruit. The patent further disclosed that fibrous membrane and albedo, containing undesirable bitter substances, could then be removed to leave the juice component along with oils from the flavedo layer of the rind to enhance the flavor of the juice.
Haman U.S. Pat. No. 2,935,407 dated May 3, 1960 and entitled "Process of Preserving the Fresh Flavor of Citrus Fruits" disclosed a process for preserving the fresh flavor of whole citrus fruit and producing a "creamed whole citrus fruit preparation" wherein all the fresh flavor of the citrus fruit was retained in refrigerated storage for a normal use period. Like Hill, Haman contemplated initially macerating whole citrus fruits except for the seeds which were the only portion of the fruit removed from the product. Haman then homogenized the macerated whole citrus fruit to produce the final desired product.
Villadsen U.S. Pat. No. 3,404,990 dated Oct. 8, 1968 and entitled "Preparation of Clouding and Coloring Agent for Soft Drinks" disclosed yet another process for preparing citrus fruit juices and other juices into beverages such as soft drinks, lemonade, and the like. This patent contemplated the use of desirable cloud forming and coloring agents from the peels and rag of the fruits in order to enhance a juice recovered from the citrus fruit. The patent further described treatment of the peel and rag from the fruit, for example, by heating or enzymatic action, to better condition the cloud forming and coloring agents obtained from the citrus fruit. The patent also indicated that these cloud forming and coloring agents could be used either in combination with juice from the same fruit or other beverages such as soft drinks and the like.
Finally, Douglas U.S. Pat. No. 3,647,475 dated Mar. 7, 1972 and entitled "Cloud Fortified Citrus Fruit Juices", assigned to the assignee of the present invention, disclosed a citrus juice product and method of formation wherein a quantity of finely divided albedo, or inner white layer of the rind or peel of the citrus fruit, after removal of the outer flavedo layer, was incorporated into an extracted citrus fruit juice. This combination fortified the cloud color of the resultant juice while also increasing its vitamin C content.
Accordingly, the prior art demonstrates a substantial variety of techniques for enhancing citrus juices and related beverage products. However, it will be apparent that most of these efforts have been directed toward enhancement of beverage products through the addition of one or more components from the citrus fruit itself directly into the juice with the juice then being in a form suitable for consumption by the end user.
However, there has been found to remain a substantial need for improved citrus juice products and method of manufacturing them for enhancing both natural color and flavor while at the same time making these products economically more feasible by dilution with less costly ingredients, particularly for mass markets.